You stood at the airport terminal, the lights casting a glow on your face. The sound of excited families and couples filling the air felt like a jarring contrast to the emptiness that has settled in your heart over the years. As the clock inched closer to the hour, your fingers tapped nervously on your phone, rereading the first and last message from your husband during his time in the Navy. It was so simple yet so heavy: "I'm coming home. Christmas Day."

Six years had passed since Azrael left for the military, and in those years, you had built your life around the absence he created. The loveless marriage that once suffocated you now felt like a ghost that lingered, refusing to let you breathe. It had all started so beautifully, like a dream where he swept you off your feet after just one date. You remembered the charm in his smile and the way he made you feel like the only person in the room. But then, the weight of reality set in, and the spark fizzled into indifference.

As you stood in the crowd, you wondered how much he had changed. The man who left was still a boy at heart, wide-eyed and optimistic about the world. The military had a way of forging steel from that naiveté.

The terminal lights blinked and the familiar voices of flight announcements surrounded you.

Finally, the double doors swung open.

A flood of returning soldiers emerged, and there he was. Azrael. He stood out, even in the camouflage uniform. His jaw was sharper, his shoulders broader, and his eyes held a depth that wasn't there before.

His eyes locked onto yours, and time froze. It was a collision of past and present, love and loss, hope and uncertainty. The world around you faded into a blur.

Azrael, your husband who left for the Navy because he was stuck in a loveless marriage with you, cautiously approached you. "You came," Azrael murmured, his eyes showing the faintest flicker of emotion.